A Pirate's Life For Me
by dfriendly
Summary: When Lt. Cdr. Arthur Pendragon, son of Port Camelot's governor, is kidnapped by pirates, Gwen the blacksmith's daughter, Morgan le Fay the pirate, and Merlin the secretive servant join forces to save him. AU in Pirates of the Caribbean universe.


**Title:** A Pirate's Life For Me [1/?]

**Fandom:** _Merlin_, in the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ universe

**Characters/Pairings:** Gwen, Arthur, Morgana, Merlin, Uther, Gaius, Sophia (Arthur/Gwen, a little Merlin/Morgana, a little Arthur/Morgana)

**Rating:** PG-13

**Word Count:** 4,988 (this installment)

**Warnings:** Utter, utter crackery. Come on, they're PIRATES!

**Disclaimer:** Neither _Merlin_ nor the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ franchise are mine. I have also taken several (lots?) lines straight from the 1st movie, so if you've watch the movie enough times you can practically quote the whole thing (like me) and you recognize a line, it's not mine.

**Summary: **Lt. Cdr. Arthur Pendragon, son of Port Camelot's governor, is mistakenly kidnapped by the cursed pirates of the _Holy Grail_. Gwen, the blacksmith's daughter, enlists the help of newly-returned-as-pirate Morgan le Fay and her simple friend Merlin, who has secrets of his own…

**A/N: **For the Spring Fling at the LJ comm camelot_love (yeah, it's super late). thy3tuth_iswon's prompt: "Pirates of the Caribbean AU: Arthur is a Royal Navy officer in love with the blacksmith's daughter Gwen. A kidnapping, secrets, pirates, and Merlin are thrown into the mix."

Months and _months_ ago, thy3tuth_iswon mentioned this at the LJ comm camelot_love. Plot bunnies attacked and I started writing experimentally, but I wasn't sure enough if I could make it work to take the prompt at the time. I saved her exact words, which were:

"_Pirates of the Caribbean Merlin. okay, Arthur's is a high ranking soldier with a powerful blue blood father, and their job is to protect British territory and kill pirates. What he wants is Gwen, the blacksmith daughter. He even personally goes to the forge to make his orders just to catch her, but never, ever approaches her. (Reverse Elizabeth/Will situation). Morgana is his stepsister who ran years ago after discovering she was a daughter a great pirate lord (or lady). Gauis is the Keeper of the Code. and Merlin...darn it, forgot what I had for Merlin. Then, the island town is attacked by pirates and Gwen is taken away (maybe with Merlin, he's the real target?)._"

[I changed parts of it, as you'll see. But a lot of it was taken from her prompt.]

So I kind of played around with it and eventually wrote quite a bit. But I never told her about it, since I didn't want to get her hopes up in case it fell through. Then she mentioned it again for the Spring Fling and I just figured "why not?"

I truthfully forgot about it for awhile, but was reminded about it recently. I'd been hesitant to post what I'd had before now due to worrying that plot wouldn't work out later on and then I'd have to go back and change things. Now that I've thought things out some more and edited a bit, I can only _hope_ this won't be a problem later on.

This is just the first installment, obviously. Partly to prove that "No, I haven't forgotten about it!" I hope that I'll get back to it before _too_ much time passes.

OMG. THIS IS THE LONGEST A/N EVER!

llllllllll

_~~~Twelve years ago~~~ _

The crossing of the Atlantic was a long and weary trip.

Arthur was looking out onto the sea, all of its majesty lost in the fog and dreariness. Although he hadn't liked the idea of leaving London to live in a Caribbean port, he was looking forward to getting off the stupid boat. He'd been going stir-crazy after all these months at sea. A ship didn't have nearly enough room to move around in – let alone practice his burgeoning swordsmanship.

His foster sister, however, loved being on a ship – which she informed him of several times a day. Morgana Cornwall was also unlike him in that she loved the idea of going off to a remote sea port – the very port her father had been stationed at before his ship was lost at sea, Port Camelot. He used to write to her as often as he could for the year that he had been there, weaving tales of pirates and treasure and all the other things this part of the world seemed to be rife with.

In fact, Morgana probably had _too_ much of a fascination with pirates. It certainly troubled Arthur's father so. And it didn't help that she kept singing pirate ditties and pestering the sailors about if they'd ever had a run-in with a pirate. Arthur was sure that even if any of them had, they wouldn't tell her in the fear of being chastised by Uther for encouraging her.

Gaius was the only one who would indulge her, although usually with tales that would hope to turn her off from the subject, considering how gruesome they were – most of them ended with how the pirate was executed and their bodies hung at the entrances of harbors as warnings to their kind. Gaius, it seemed, thought pirates to be fearsome brutes that should get what they deserved and was paranoid of a pirate attack raining down on them any second in the fog.

It was shortly after Gaius had interrupted one of Morgana's songs, giving his opinion about how all pirates deserved "a short stop and a sudden stop," and Uther butted in to stop the unsavory conversation where it was, that Morgana sulked over to join Arthur's viewing of the passing waters.

"Do you see that?" she finally said after several minutes.

"What?"

Morgana grew excited as whatever she was looking at came closer. "Are you _blind_? That right there!" She leaned forward, scrutinizing what seemed to just be a drifting wooden board, before shouting, "Look! A boy! There's a boy in the water!"

Everyone scrambled forward at this, and then a brief pandemonium before they threw over a hook to haul the boy out.

"He's still breathing," Gaius said, lugging the boy to be lain somewhere.

But the attention was soon turned to the burning ship coming into view through the fog.

"Pirates," Gaius muttered.

Morgana and Arthur were the only ones still by the boy's side – Arthur only because he had been pushed to the side by the adults.

The boy was thin and pale, with dark hair, distinguished cheekbones, and stuck-out ears.

Morgana reached over to stroke the boy's hair from his face and feel his forehead when the boy suddenly gasped and grabbed her wrist.

Arthur and she both jumped, Arthur ready to attack the boy if he meant to hurt her. But the boy remained still, apparently just surprised by her touch.

"It's okay. My name's Morgana. And this is Arthur."

"Merlin," the boy panted.

"I'm watching over you, Merlin," she whispered before he fainted again.

Arthur turned and shouted for someone, before facing Morgana again.

Morgana's arms snapped suspiciously behind her back. "What's that you've got?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"Has he said anything?" Uther boomed, striding over to them.

"His name's Merlin. That's all we found out," Morgana answered.

Uther nodded. "Take him below," he ordered to the men behind him before addressing Arthur to follow him.

Arthur obeyed, pausing when he caught something from the corner of his eye. Through the crowd of sailors hauling down the life boats to search for survivors, he saw what looked like another ship.

A ship with black sails.

lll

Arthur sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes to remind himself of the image he'd just dreamt.

It had been about when they'd crossed from England – the day they found the burning ship, so sunken and ablaze that it was past recognition and without any other survivors. Merlin had told them it was a merchant ship attacked by pirates, but he was too young and probably too traumatized to know all the details.

He put on a dressing robe and padded next door. He pushed it open without knocking – there was no need to ever since three years ago. That was when Morgana had run away.

Arthur sighed as he looked at her dust-layered room. The bed looked lonely and sad without any sheets; her desk was unusually tidy, all of her things neatly put away by servants so long ago. The only thing that remained the same was her full bookcase – with more books on piracy than Uther had ever approved of.

He walked toward the bookshelf, absentmindedly running his finger along one row of books.

There was nothing Morgana seemed to love more than the subject of pirates, especially since coming to Port Camelot. Yet she had not taken a single book with her – not even her favorite one. Arthur had always wondered about this.

If she hadn't left a note about 'finding herself' – which was very much like Morgana to do, Arthur would admit – he would think she'd been kidnapped.

He came across the most worn book of them all: _A Brief Historical Reference Book of Piracy in the Caribbean_. It was the one that her father had sent to her in London while he'd been stationed here.

Why had she left it when it was so prized to her? Might she have planned on returning one day to retrieve it?

He pulled it out, flipping it to the first page.

_A Young Woman's Guide to Proper Social Etiquette_? What the…?

He tilted the book a fraction, and suddenly the pages slid down off from the leather binding and onto the floor, something else rolling under a nearby chair.

Of course, he realized. Morgana took the book, leaving another one in its place, disguised by the leather cover.

He leant down to pick up the etiquette guide. It was then that he noticed a large square cut out from the pages – in a way that would allow her to hide something there…

He remembered the glint of whatever it was that had fallen from the book. Crouching, he reached under the chair, pulling out what looked at first to be a necklace.

But on the end of the chain was a gold medallion – no, a _coin_. And not just any coin. It was large and heavy. Must be pure gold, he thought. But the most troubling of all was the insignia: a skull surrounded by an Aztec design.

This was no cheap, silly trinket. It looked in every way to be genuine pirate treasure. Now where on earth could Morgana have gotten such a thing? And _how_? That was the most troubling.

"Arthur," someone called from next door.

_Merlin_. Arthur paused, looking wildly around the room. For some unknown reason, he flung the chain over his head and stuffed it beneath his under shirt, shoving the book back in its place before shouting, "In here!"

Arthur turned as Merlin pushed the door open farther than the crack it had been at previously.

"It's, um, pretty late, Arthur. You should probably be getting ready," his manservant said, his voice unusually reverent.

Arthur gave one last look around the room, before nodding. "Fine."

"Arthur?"

"What is it Merlin?"

Merlin paused. "I'm sorry," he said solemnly.

Arthur rolled his eyes, exasperated at how Merlin always acted whenever the vaguest subject of Morgana came up. "Why do you always say that? You have nothing to be sorry for."

lll

Arthur was behind the changing screen when he heard his father come in.

"You do remember your promotional ceremony is today."

"Yes, father. How could I forget?"

Arthur stuffed his arms through the dress shirt Merlin held out rougher than needed. He could tell his father was on the verge of saying something – something which he knew he wasn't going to like.

"Miss Sophia will be there."

At his father's words, Arthur grew irritated and smacked Merlin's hands away to tie his cravat himself – even though he knew it would be look worse that way. "I am aware," he said stiffly.

"It's always nice seeing her. And her parents."

Arthur was glad that the changing screen muffled his annoyed mutterings. He knew exactly what his father had in mind for him and Sophia.

But thankfully, Uther said no more on the subject. For now.

lll

Gwen stood in the foyer of Governor Pendragon's house, a little uncomfortable. She hadn't been here since Morgana had run away, when Gwen had still been her personal maid.

But it wasn't just due to the fact that every room brought back ghostly memories of her old mistress. It was… well, it was someone else, really.

Every servant that turned the corner made her start, jumping for the fifth time when Merlin descended the stairs.

"Gwen," he called. "What are you doing here?"

"I have the Governor's order." She motioned to the long box tucked under her arm.

"Oh, right. Well I can take –"

"Guinevere. It's so good to see you."

Gwen looked up, to see Lieutenant Arthur Pendragon now descending the stairs. He was in his formal attire, wearing his usual wig and hat with a ceremonial officer's coat.

She bowed her head. "Lieutenant-Commander."

"Well, I'm still a lieutenant for a few more hours. But even then, you may always call me Arthur."

Merlin cleared his throat and reached out for the sword box. "I'll just go and give this to the governor."

"Actually," Arthur interrupted. "You can leave it here. May I?" he then asked, turning toward Gwen. "It will shortly be mine, after all."

Gwen pursed her lips as her eyes flitted to Merlin slinking out of the room. "Er, yes. I suppose."

Arthur smiled as she set the box on the foyer table and opened it. "It looks to be a fine sword."

"Yes," she began nervously. "The blade is folded steel. And that's gold filigree laid into the handle. If I may." She picked the sword from the box and unsheathed it, unable to help some of her excitement from bubbling up. She poised the flat of the blade under the hilt on her finger. "Perfectly balanced. The tang is nearly the full width of the blade."

The lieutenant nodded and smiled. He wasn't looking at the sword, but at her face.

"Do pass my compliments onto your father."

"I shall," she answered stiffly, sheathing the sword and laying it back in its box. "A craftsman is always pleased to hear his work is appreciated."

He nodded and stepped closer to her. "Yes, and you know I always enjoy coming to your forge."

She ducked her head and tried to hide her flushed cheeks. "The business you bring us is always valued."

"Well, you do make the best swords. I wouldn't have my men going to a lesser smithy. Not that any of them can tell the difference between a fine sword and a mediocre one, which is why I have to make the orders myself."

She nodded. "One would wonder why you always come yourself. I mean… you must be busy with other things."

"Not too busy to not take sword-making seriously. I'm practically putting my life in your hands."

"Arthur! We should be leaving soon."

Arthur visibly flinched, taking a step back from her, and turned his head to address the governor just entering the room behind him.

"There's still plenty of time, father."

Governor Pendragon's eyes slid to the sword in the open box on the table as he approached.

"You shouldn't see your sword before the ceremony, Arthur." But he clearly seemed to be chastising Gwen instead.

"I apologize, Governor. I shouldn't have –"

"It's my own fault, father. I had insisted on it," Arthur pressed. He then turned back toward her, his eyes soft. "And I had wished to personally thank her for the sword."

She lowered her eyes, uncomfortable now with Uther's presence. "It was my pleasure, Lieutenant."

"Guinevere, how many times must I ask you to call me Arthur?"

"At least once more, Lieutenant. As always."

"There, see?" The governor clipped. "At least the girl has a sense of propriety. Now, we really must be going." He then pushed between them and snapped the box shut as he picked it up.

Arthur paused, looking a little hurt by insistence on addressing him so formally. "Good day, Miss Carmelide," he said before following his father out.

"Good day," she called after him, despite him being out of earshot, "Arthur."

lll

Morgan had not meant to return to Port Camelot. And if it were not for the fact that her ship, er boat… well, _dingy_ had been taking in water, then she would have avoided it like the plague.

It would be fine, she decided. She would be in and out, no problem. All she had to do was commandeer a ship. She's pulled off more impossible feats.

She thought she would try the straight forward approach. Just walk right on up to the pier like you belong and people would think there was nothing suspicious.

Unfortunately, there was a scuffle of feet behind her and two uniformed men pushed in front of her to block her way. "This deck is off limits to civilians."

Perhaps a different approach would be needed: confusion. She had found in her youth it worked well on low-ranking officers.

"I'm terribly sorry. I didn't know. If I see one, I shall inform you immediately."

Despite their perplexed looks, they bumbled after her when she tried to move past them and blocked her path again.

The third approach: flattery.

Smiling, she said, "Apparently there's some high-toned and fancy to-do up at the fort. How could it be that two upstanding gentlemen such as yourselves did not merit an invitation?"

"Someone has to make sure this dock stays off-limit to civilians," the younger one answered, his pride clearly wounded.

"It's a fine goal to be sure. But it seems to me that a ship like that," she said, gesturing to an impressive looking ship in the background, "makes this one a bit superfluous really."

"Oh, the _Excalibur_ is the power in these waters, true enough. But there's no ship that can match the _Carnwennan _for speed."

Morgan put her fingers to her lips in feigned thought. "I've heard of one. Supposed to be very fast. Nigh uncatchable. The_ Holy Grail_."

The older, portlier officer gave a scoffing laugh. "There's no _real_ ship that can match the _Carnwennan_."

"_Holy Grail _is a real ship," the younger officer said.

"No. No, it's not."

"Yes it is, I've seen it."

"You've seen it?"

"Yes."

"You haven't seen it."

"Yes. I have."

"You've seen a ship with black sails, that's crewed by the damned, who's captained by a man _so_ evil Hell itself spat him back out?"

"No."

"No," the older officer repeated.

"But I have seen a ship with black sails."

"_Ohhh_. And _no_ ship that's not crewed by the damned and captained by a man so evil Hell itself spat him back out could _possibly_ have black sails therefore couldn't _possibly_ be any other ship than the _Holy Grail_, is that what you're saying?"

Morgan's final method? Distraction. Which is just what allowed her to sneak off while they continued arguing to board the _Carnwennan_. She immediately went to the helm, admiring the ship and imagining herself steering it across the ocean. Yes, the _Carnwennan_ would definitely do…

"'Ey! You!" Unfortunately the officers seemed to have noticed she slipped past them and were now jumping aboard and brandishing their rifles at her. "Get away from there! You don't have permission to be aboard there, lass."

"I'm sorry, it's just such a pretty boat. – Ship."

"What's your name?"

"Ms. Smith. Or Smithy, if you like."

"What's your purpose in Port Camelot, _Miss Smith_?" the portly one sneered.

"Yeah! And no lies!" the other one piped up.

"Well, then. I confess. It is my intention to commandeer one of these ships, pick up a crew in Ascetir, raid, pillage, plunder, and otherwise pilfer my weasely black guts out," she taunted.

"I said no lies!"

"Think she's telling the truth" the portly one murmured to his comrade.

"If she were telling the truth, she wouldn't have told us," the younger reasoned.

"Unless of course, she knew you wouldn't believe the truth, even if it was told to you," Morgan mocked.

The officers looked at each other, clearly confused and unsure of what to do.

This would be so easy.

lll

Getting promoted to lieutenant-commander at such a young age was not enough, it seemed, for Arthur's father. When any other father would have been beaming with pride in the post-ceremonial party, Governor Pendragon was hard to please.

"You should talk to Miss Sophia, Arthur."

Arthur raised his eyebrows. "Father, really –"

"Stop fighting me on this. If you can shamelessly flirt with the blacksmith's daughter, you can certainly have a civil conversation with Sophia."

Arthur's jaw became rigid in desire to argue, but turned away to walk toward Sophia anyway. It would be easier to just get it over with and not have to be pestered by his father for the rest of the day.

As he approached her, he saw her promptly shush her friends so that they all seemed to watch him as he approached.

"Miss Sophia," he greeted with a small bow. "I was hoping to have your company for a few moments."

She blushed and twittered her acceptance, apparently unaware of his laced sarcasm.

He walked away, not really sure where he was going until he found himself away from the party and out where it overlooked the bay.

"What did you wish to speak to me about?"

Arthur paused, turning and walking over to the edge to look out at the ocean. He really hadn't thought about what he would say. "I'm… not really sure."

Sophia seemed to like his answer for some unknown reason. "It's alright if you're nervous, Arthur. I understand."

Arthur turned, finding that she was right in front of him now and _much_ too close.

"It is a big day for you with your promotion. Perhaps you have realized that there are other major changes you would like to make to your life. You might consider… taking a wife." With that, she reached out to brush his arm.

Arthur jumped at her touch, fighting to keep the disgust off his face and maintain a polite expression.

"I have been rather preoccupied –" _with other things to even think of marriage_, he didn't get to finish.

"With thoughts of me?" she gasped.

No! Was she _daft_?

This answered itself as she expectantly leaned forward, her eyes closing.

Arthur jerked back to avoid her, his heels knocking hard against the short brick wall – causing him to topple backwards over the cliff.

lll

Unfortunately, Morgan's perfect orchestration of stories (such as when an island tribe in the South Pacific made her their queen) was interrupted by a splash in the entrance of the harbor, a distant scream, and then a lot of commotion from the fort.

Morgan's and the two men's heads snapped toward the sounds, seeing only the white foam of disturbed water. Someone had clearly fallen in.

"Will you be saving him then?" Morgan asked the officers on either side of her.

"I can't swim!" the older said.

Morgan looked at him, then the other, before taking off her hat, coat, pistols, and sword.

"Pride of the King's Navy you are," she muttered, stuffing her things against their chests. "Do _not_ lose these." And with that, she dove in.

The water pulsed strangely around her, as if disturbed by a great unnatural force. It chilled her and reverberated in her ears. The only explanation she could think of was being the effects of knowing she might be the only one who could save this person.

She swam forward, using the momentum of her dive to propel herself toward the officer as he sank to the bottom. She wrapped her arms around his middle and kicked off the bottom, only to be weighed back down again by his heavy uniform. So she quickly shed him of the jacket, then the overshirt, and his boots, before fighting her way back up to the surface with the officer in her grasp.

It wasn't until she had nearly reached the closest dock where the two other officers were waiting for her that she realized exactly who the waterlogged officer was.

Arthur.

Climbing out of the water, with some help to haul up Arthur from the officers, Morgan noticed the sudden chill in the air from the wind blowing and sudden clouds blocking the sun. But unusual weather patterns were the least of Morgan's worries at the moment. She then noticed Arthur's bloody head wound most likely from hitting a rock or the side of the cliff during the fall. Morgan was actually… _worried_ for her foster brother's life.

"He's not conscious!" one of the officers whined in a panic.

Morgan's mind raced to try and think of what to do. So she slapped him.

Arthur jerked to his side, coughing the water out of his lungs.

"Never would have thought of that," the portly officer said in a daze while the other one looked on in disbelief.

"A good, hard slap knocks the sense into any man," she reasoned.

Then a glint of gold caught her eye. She reached out for the medallion falling out from Arthur's shirt, finding the very coin she had taken from Merlin's neck during the crossing from England.

"Where did you get that?" she demanded quietly.

Arthur didn't seem to hear the question or even acknowledge the gold coin around his neck. He just stared at her blearily, as if his eyes were still focusing.

"Morgana?" he whispered, as if thinking this was just a dream or delusion.

"Yes, Arthur," she answered quietly so the others wouldn't hear.

Suddenly, Morgan became aware of the approaching guards only to have the bayonets of their rifles in her face. "On your feet!" one demanded.

Clearly they didn't recognize her as the Governor's old ward since she was no longer perfectly preened and proper. Instead her hair was wild, her skin dirty, and she was dressed in unkempt men's clothes.

Uther pushed forward toward his son, pulling him up and away from her. "Arthur! Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he mumbled, clearly distracted by her presence.

Uther barely even glanced at her, before saying through clenched teeth, "_Shoot her_."

"Father!"

Uther looked at his son, to which Arthur lowly hissed, "_It's Morgana_."

The governor's gaze turned fully on her. "What?"

And just an hour ago Morgan had hoped she'd be out of Port Camelot in no time, with no trouble…

"Morgana Cornwall, where have you been for the past three years?" he fumed. "What have you been doing –"

"It's Morgan le Fay," she said icily.

"What?"

"My name is _Morgan_. Le _Fay_."

Uther shook his head in angry disbelief. He had probably heard the name along with the other pirates' names that circulate. "No. You might have run away to _God_ knows where, but don't try to make me _believe_ that –"

"That I'm a pirate?" she finished for him, thrusting her right forearm forward while pulling up her sleeve. And there clear as day was the '**P**' branded into her skin after a brush with the East India Trading Company. Just above it was the tattoo of a sprite.

"No," Uther repeated, his voice weaker. There was no denying that.

She didn't know why she did it. Perhaps she could have fooled them and just escaped again, but something inside her needed to show him who she really was now.

All Uther could do for several seconds was quietly seethe.

"Don't act so surprised, Uther. I found out what you never told me about my father."

"Gorlois was desperate and misguided. He made a gravely foolish decision, lured by vices and the promise of gold –"

"You said his ship had been lost at sea, instead of telling me the truth. I _deserved_ to know."

"Because you had been obsessed with pirates from the time your father had sent that _blasted_ book to you and I knew you would not understand the gravity of the situation."

"But told me he was dead. And by the time I learned the truth, it was too late. My father died years before I could see him again."

Uther blinked, and Morgan wondered if she recognized what might possibly be grief on his face before it disappeared. "He died the day he became a pirate, as far as I'm concerned. It makes no difference."

"Then I am dead, too. Because I am a pirate now, like it or not. And a captain at that."

Uther scoffed. "I don't see your ship."

"I'm in the market, as it were."

"She said she'd come to commandeer one," the younger of the original two dock guards chipped in meekly.

"Told you she was telling the truth," the older mumbled. "These are hers, sir," he added carefully, holding up the things Morgan had had them hold while she saved Arthur's sorry arse.

Uther picked up individual items as he inspected them. "No additional shot or powder. A compass that doesn't point north…" He then pulled her sword a fraction out of its sheath. "And I half expected it to be made of wood," he sneered. "You are without a doubt the _worst_ pirate I've ever heard of."

"But you _have_ heard of me," she antagonized.

Uther grabbed her by the arm, yanking her towards the man waiting with iron cuffs. "If you insist on calling yourself a pirate, Morgana, then you will sit in a prison cell like the rest of them until you forget this nonsense."

"Father!" Arthur butted in, following the pair of them. "I really must protest –"

"If Morgana has convinced herself that she is a pirate, then that is just how she'll be treated."

Arthur stepped between Uther and herself. "But she isn't just some pirate, she's _Morgana_! Your ward! My foster sister! We have known her for thirteen years!"

"Not well enough," she hissed.

"Indeed," Uther returned coldly.

Morgan sighed at this typical Pendragon family scene of Arthur standing up to his father in a rare instance just to have his arguments fall on deaf ears. The officer secured the irons around her wrists, but like the rest of the soldiers gathered around them, he seemed more preoccupied with the governor facing off with his son than the runaway pirate girl. There really was an advantage to men underestimating her for her sex.

So she acted suddenly, grabbing her pistol from atop the pile of her things in the portly officer's outstretched arms and putting it to Arthur's temple as she jerked his head back.

Every man on the deck tensed and jerked forward. "Don't shoot!" Uther ordered to the men, knowing how jumpy they could be.

"Morgana, what are you doing?"Arthur grinded out through clenched teeth.

"Getting myself out of here."

Morgan could see the way his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. "This isn't you," he pressed.

So she cocked the pistol, noticing how the soldiers seemed to take one step forward at the action. "Try me."

"Governor Pendragon, my effects, please. And my hat," she demanded, glaring straight into his eyes. She realized that he no longer seemed to recognize her. He was even _afraid_ of her. All the better. "Governor!"

Uther jaw went rigid as he nodded to the portly soldier holding her things.

"Arthur, if you'd be so kind," she whispered.

Once he was handed her effects, Morgan nudged his shoulder to turn him. Arthur's eyes narrowed, nearly resembling his father's expression as he put on her hat and her sword belt. "What happened to you?" he muttered as his arms went around her to buckle her pistol holster.

Morgan felt her breath catch as his body moved in closer, remembering their past flirtations between puberty and her leaving. Like it or not, there had been some attraction between the two of them that was beyond sibling-like affection. "You wouldn't understand. You're still your father's son," she answered, trying to keep her voice contemptuous. "But I saved your life, you save mine. We're square."

Arthur's eyebrows knitted together, but Morgan turned him back around before more could be said.

"Gentlemen!" she addressed, before softly adding into her captor's ear, "Arthur." She backed away slowly, Arthur still in tow. "You will _always_ remember this as the day you _almost_ caught Captain Morgan le Fay."

And with that, she shoved Arthur forward to stumble into the soldiers. She turned, grabbing the rope behind her and loosing the pulley system, sending a hanging canon crashing down so that she would then be pulled upward to the wooden frame. The falling canon caused more disarray below while she swung around on the frame's arm to reach the adjacent pulley frame. She deftly dropped down, hearing the shouts behind her as the soldiers ran after her.

She reached the town in no time, the soldiers behind her still maneuvering the maze of the docks. And then she made a straight line for the forge she remembered well.


End file.
